Page 42 of Lethal Vengeance

“Yes, I do, but I’m good,” I assure him with a small smile. Bending my head, I set each of the times on my watch and change it to vibrate.

“Did you get a tracker?” Zane asks, his voice gruff with an undercurrent of emotion.

I’ve been avoiding him, but now I look up. His grey eyes are dark with remorse and guilt, but I can’t acknowledge it. Not right now. “It’s on my boot.”

Zane’s hands move rapidly, checking and rechecking the items on his body. “Maintain silence unless it’s urgent.” He taps the piece on his neck. “Use your comms to speak.” He points to the map. “We changed things up a bit. I’ll be here. The four of you will go in and retrieve the packages. Sterling and Cruz will take one, Raider and Quinn the other. I’ll cover your exit. We’ll rendezvous at the new base of operations. Everybody clear?”

Everything else is pretty much the same, except I’m now paired with Raider. My guess is the change is due to what happened between Zane and me earlier today.

My eyes dart to Raider’s across the table, and I nod. “Clear.”

“Let’s roll,” Zane commands, leading the way out.

* * *

The facility is quiet.Guards and rotations are unchanged. The five of us move to the other side of the building where the annex is located. My watch vibrates with an alert for checkpoint one. We’re on time.

Zane sets up position in the brush, and the rest of us proceed to the building.

My phone vibrates with checkpoint two a few seconds after we enter. Ahead of schedule.

The hallway lights have been dimmed for the night. One guard is asleep. We hold him down and inject him with a sedative to make sure he doesn’t wake for several more hours.

The other guard is in the restroom. Cruz waits outside the door. He’s down in seconds and given a sedative to keep him asleep.

We make our way to the two cells, but when we reach ours, it’s empty. Startled, I glance at Raider, who signals to Cruz.

He points to his cell and motions for us to come closer.

We move forward, and I peer between the bars. Two girls, about the same age Sophia was when she was taken. One dark-haired and dark complected, sitting tall, her scrubs pressed neatly. The other fair, hiding slightly behind the first girl, wearing similar scrubs, but hers are too big and hang off her thin body. Both girls cling to each other in solidarity.

The brunette stares at the four of us, searching for an indication of our intent. Her mahogany brown eyes remind me so much of Sophia’s that I need to blink a few times to assure myself it isn’t her.

“We’re here to get you out,” I inform her.

She doesn’t move. “Where will you send us?”

“We’re sending you home to Chicago,” I announce. “And we’re sending her to Miami.”

The blond lifts her head and opens her mouth, but the dark-haired girl whispers something urgent to her. They argue back and forth for a few minutes until the girl reluctantly nods.

“What is it?” I ask, uneasy with the exchange.

“She wants to go home with me, but I told her my brothers wouldn’t like it. They’re going to want reparation for my kidnapping… in blood. It’s best if she comes to visit after it’s all over,” the dark-haired girl states, her voice matter of fact.

Ah, yes, the Sicilian mafia princess. What was her name? Aria Luciano. Well, I guess if I don’t succeed in killing Armando, the Luciano family will take care of it for me.

“Aria, right? You’ll go with these two men,” I inform her, pointing at Sterling and Cruz. “And Margot, you’ll come with us.”

Aria studies all four of us like she’s memorizing our faces, then nods.

My watch vibrates. “We need to go now. Our window is closing.”

The two girls hug.

Sterling takes the lead, Aria falls in behind him, and Cruz takes the rear. They head out first.

I motion for Margot to come closer. She eyes me nervously and shuffles half a step closer.